Franco Proposal Contest

The submission window for the 2025 contest has closed.

The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America invites you to develop your compositional skills by entering the Franco Proposal Contest. Held every 2 years, it is named in honor of the composer Johan Franco (1908–1988). He was an accomplished composer and a respected member of the GCNA, whose compositions for carillon number in the hundreds, many of exceptional quality.

What we're looking for

Type: Entries must be a proposal to write an original composition for carillon. Your proposal should contain:

• One to three sample scores demonstrating your best work in any genre for any instrumentation. You may submit sample recordings of the scores as well.
• A description of your compositional experience (suggested max 250 words).
• A statement (about 500–1,000 words) detailing the ideas and direction of the proposed work. Sketches or images (e.g. motivic material, themes, compositional structure) may be submitted as well.

Open to: Everyone, except members of the Franco Committee. Composers who have written extensively for carillon will also generally not be considered and should instead enter the Franco Composition Contest; for example, composers who have had several works published by the GCNA or similar organizations, previously won a prize for an original piece of music written for carillon, etc.

Quantity: Only 1 entry is allowed.

Submission deadline: June 23, 2024.

No entry fee.

Prizes

Two prizes will be awarded. Both winners will receive US$2,000. Their compositions will be published by the GCNA, promoted on the GCNA website (see Publication and copyright), and premiered at the 2025 GCNA Congress.

How to enter

To enter the competition:

1. Anonymize the materials of your proposal by removing your name and any identifying information.
2. Email your contact information and anonymized proposal to the Franco Committee co-chairs, Joey Brink and Tiffany Ng, at franco@gcna.org.

That's it! Questions? Email franco@gcna.org.

What to expect after you enter

The jury consists of the following members on the Franco Committee: Linda Dzuris, Alex Johnson, Joey Brink, Scott Orr, and Charles Zettek. They will evaluate entries based on their usefulness to the carillon community, namely their effectiveness on the carillon, playability, originality, and general musical interest.

To preserve anonymity, we ask that you not contact any members of the jury, directly or indirectly. Send your questions to the Franco Committee co-chairs, Joey Brink and Tiffany Ng, at franco@gcna.org.

Key dates

• Winners announced: On or by August 23, 2024
• Completed score due: February 1, 2025
• World premiere: June 2025 at the GCNA Congress

Composition tips and requirements

To familiarize yourself with the carillon, we recommend starting with these resources:

• "Composing for the Carillon: Recommendations and Examples" by John Gouwens (and his companion video)
• "Composing for Carillon" by Joey Brink

The work you will compose must be playable by a solo carillonneur on a 4-octave carillon (C–D–chromatic–C4; low C♯ omitted), with a 2-octave pedalboard (C–D–chromatic–C2). Notating outside of this range is permitted provided that substitutions are given in the 48-bell range. You may wish to limit your pedalboard range to 1.5 octaves (C–D–chromatic–G1) as many carillons (particularly European standard) have that reduced range. Arrangements for 2-octave carillon are welcome (again with low C♯ omitted). The piece should be a minimum of 3-4 minutes long, and a general duration of 3-7 minutes is common.

Public performance of any winning composition prior to the 2025 GCNA Congress is grounds for disqualification.

Publication and copyright

By entering the contest, you agree to the following requirements regarding publication and copyright should your proposal win:

• Winners must warrant to the GCNA that their composition, when completed, does not violate any existing copyright in whole or in part, and that they have the lawful right to authorize its publication.
• Winners agree to grant full copyright and licensing rights to the GCNA.
• If the winner has any arrangement with any performing rights organizations (e.g. ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN), they must instruct the affiliated organization not to collect performance fees solely on the basis of this composition. In some cases, this may entail waiving rights to performance royalties.

Past prizewinners

Purchase all Franco Contest prizewinners published by the GCNA at our music store.